q-Powders: a quick test for screening retronasal olfactory disorders with tasteless powders
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Michał Pieniak; Antje Haehner; Anna Oleszkiewicz; Thomas Hummel; Marie Klockow; Ayaho Yoshino
- Source
- European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology
- Subject
- medicine.medical_specialty
Quick Test
q-Powders test
Screening test
Olfactory disorder
Test sensitivity
Olfaction
Audiology
03 medical and health sciences
Olfaction Disorders
0302 clinical medicine
Medicine
Humans
030223 otorhinolaryngology
business.industry
Mean age
General Medicine
Middle Aged
Rhinology
Test (assessment)
Smell
Otorhinolaryngology
Retronasal olfaction
Odorants
Olfactory disorders
Head and neck surgery
Female
Powders
business
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
- Language
- ISSN
- 1434-4726
Purpose To investigate the clinical utility of q-Powders—a retronasal identification screening test. Methods A total of 156 subjects (92 females, mean age: 54.5 years ± 17.3 years) completed a 3-item q-Powders retronasal identification test and a 16-items Sniffin’ Sticks orthonasal identification test. We analyzed whether the q-Powders test could differentiate between subjects with normosmia and subjects with an olfactory disorder. Results Our data indicated that subjects with an olfactory disorder scored lower in the q-Powders test than subjects with normosmia. The analyses revealed q-Powders test sensitivity of 84% and a test specificity of 64.9% with a score of 2 points taken as a cutoff for olfactory disorders. Conclusion The 3-item q-Powders retronasal test may be used for screening purposes in clinical research. Level of evidence 4